Exposed Secrets
by pokemon maniac
Summary: The quest to stop Gaea is over, but Percy and the other six demigods are still working together. When a strange dragon appears that can speak and has no Greek history, Percy and the others don't know if she is friend or foe. She claims that she wants to help them, but when she abducts Percy, it's up to the others to get him back. This story is currently on hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Exposed Secrets

A warm summer breeze drifted along the shore of Long Island, making all the leaves of the strawberry plants in the fields of Camp Half-Blood rustle. Satyrs sat among the plants, playing music on their reed pipes to help the plants grow.

The breeze continued through the rows of cabins, carrying their various scents as it weaved through their open windows. Everyone at the camp was happy and relaxed, enjoying another peaceful summer day.

Down by the beach, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were sitting on a blanket, having a picnic and enjoying the summer in their favorite way; being together. They held hands and looked out over the ocean. The breeze reached them and carried the scents of camp with it.

"Smells like barbeque," Percy noted as he smelled the breeze.

"Really? All I smell is the Aphrodite cabin's perfume." Annabeth waved a hand in front of her nose.

Percy laughed. He was glad that their quest was finally over and he and Annabeth could just spend some time together.

Last summer, Percy, Annabeth, and five other demigods had traveled halfway around the world to Greece to prevent Gaea, the Earth goddess, from waking up and destroying mankind. Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus and barely survived the experience. They wouldn't have survived without each other to lean on.

Percy was thinking back on their quest when the ground shook. It shook again, and again, rhythmically, like a drum.

Percy jumped to his feet and uncapped Riptide. Annabeth also jumped up and unsheathed her drakon-bone sword and looked around. All of the other campers noticed the disturbance and tried to locate where it was coming from.

Percy and Annabeth ran from the beach until they were in the commons area. Chiron trotted past them.

"Chiron, what's happening?" Annabeth yelled over the pounding. It was getting louder and speeding up, as though it were the feet of a giant racing toward them.

"I don't know, but it's coming this way!" Chiron replied.

Demigods all over the camp raced to their swords and got their armor on. Only a few minutes later, over one hundred and fifty demigods were in full armor in the commons. The thumping was so loud that all conversations were completely stopped.

Then they saw it. A twenty-foot-tall bronze and gold dragon loomed right outside the camp's borders. It sniffed the air, and then it fixed its glowing yellow eyes on Percy and Annabeth. Percy got a chill down his spine. The dragon looked mechanical, but its eyes weren't. They looked like the eyes of a flesh-and-blood dragon, shining and brimming with intelligence.

Frank, Hazel, Piper, Jason, and Leo all ran up to Percy and Annabeth to fight alongside them. Frank had a bow and a quiver of arrows, Hazel and Jason had swords, Piper had a knife, and Leo held a ball of fire in his hand.

The dragon examined the seven of them individually. It didn't examine any other campers, which struck Percy as creepy.

The dragon turned to face the camp, then reared up and smashed its front claws into the invisible boundaries. The demigods all froze, surprised by the dragon's strength. In less than a minute, the dragon slid through the barrier as though it were made of jelly.

Everyone tensed, waiting to see what the dragon would do. No monster, no matter how powerful, had ever broken the camp barriers before. The dragon opened its mouth, and all of the demigods raised their shields defensively.

Instead of fire or poisonous gas coming out of the dragon's mouth, it was words.

"Hello, Camp Half-Blood. I come in peace. I have no wish to harm anyone. My name is Kaida." The voice was clearly female, and she sounded like a regular woman speaking into a microphone. Percy thought about how wrong that seemed. He had heard bronze statues speak before, but they all sounded like metal. The dragon sounded too…human.

"Kaida? I don't remember any stories about a dragon named Kaida," Annabeth mumbled next to Percy.

Kaida's head whipped to face Annabeth. She had been examining Chiron, but the moment Annabeth spoke, Kaida seemed to hear her. "And you won't, Annabeth Chase. I was never in any stories. And you may also be wondering how I heard your comment across the fields. I have been blessed with the keenest sight and hearing the world has ever known."

Kaida swept her eyes over the rest of the camp, like she was searching for someone. "Where are the other two?"

The question was obviously directed at Percy. He swallowed his fear and stepped forward. In a voice that was hopefully more confident than he felt, he asked, "What others?"

Her glowing yellow eyes bored into him. "There are supposed to be nine of you. I see seven."

Annabeth stepped forward. "There have always been seven of us. Who are the other two?"

Kaida snorted in disgust. "So you will discredit your friends Nico di Angelo and Reyna? How very rude of you! Simply because _they _weren't a part of your precious _prophecy, _suddenly they don't count? It's amazing they decided to help you at all with an attitude like that."

Annabeth looked like she had been punched in the stomach.

"But…" Percy wanted to say that Nico and Reyna hadn't been that important on that quest, but he knew it was a lie. If it hadn't been for Reyna, they would've had a war on their hands. And if it hadn't been for Nico, they would never have survived their first few moments in Greece. Percy desperately wanted to say something to defend Annabeth, but he couldn't. Kaida had a very strong point that he couldn't argue with.

"I wish to speak to the nine of you together. Will you please summon them, Perseus Jackson?"

Percy tightened his grip on Riptide. "No. They aren't coming."

Right behind him, a voice spoke. "Speak for yourself, Percy. I don't want to miss this."

Percy jumped. He turned around to see none other than Nico di Angelo in the shadows of Cabin Eight, only a few feet away.

"N-Nico?" Jason stammered. Percy wasn't sure why Nico's appearance shocked Jason so much, but he looked like he had seen a ghost. Percy felt like he was seeing a ghost too. Nico hadn't been in touch with them for months. Plus, he spent a lot of his time with ghosts, so he was bound to pick up some of their spooky aura.

Instead of responding, Nico waded through the crowd of armored demigods. They made way for him as though he were on fire. Kaida lowered her head to the grass and lay down on the ground, causing a small earthquake. Nico walked straight up to her snout. He drew his completely black sword and pointed it at her face.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

Kaida blinked. Her eyes dimmed. She stopped moving. She sat there, motionless, for a long time. Percy started to think that Nico had accidentally killed her. For the first time, Percy got a good look at the dragon.

She had bronze scales, most likely Celestial Bronze; enormous wings on her back; talons the size of scythes; a tail sharpened into a double-sided blade and a spear tip; and her fangs, which were visible even with her mouth closed, looked like swords that had been drilled into her mouth.

Her mouth opened abruptly, startling Nico so badly he jumped back, and something wriggled out from between her teeth. Nico pointed his sword at it, but even from a distance, Percy could tell that Nico was shaking a little bit. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting the dragon to do that.

The small creature that crawled out stood up and looked at Nico. It was about four feet tall, and it was an exact replica of Kaida.

"Please remove your sword from my face, Mr. di Angelo," the small dragon requested in Kaida's voice. Nico didn't move. "I am still me, you know. I am just a smaller version of myself."

Nico smirked. "I know. That's why I'm still pointing my sword at you."

Kaida sighed. "I only want an audience with the nine of you. Can we please go, perhaps, into the forest right over there? It seems quiet."

"But you said you wanted to talk with the_ nine _of us, and there are only eight still," Annabeth said.

Kaida laughed. It was an almost too natural sound. She sounded just like a normal woman, even while laughing in her smaller body. "My dear, I believe Reyna has arrived."

Percy heard a pegasus land behind him. He turned just in time to see Reyna dismounting her pegasus. As a matter of fact, _everyone_ heard her land, and they all turned to stare at her. Reyna suddenly looked nervous. "What?"

"We, uh, weren't expecting you," Percy tried to explain.

"Reyna! You have to get out of here!" Annabeth warned. "That dragon over there…I think she came here to kill all nine of us!"

Reyna straightened. "Kaida did not come here to kill us."

Everyone stared at her some more.

"How do you know?" Percy had been so distracted by everything, he had forgotten that Piper and the others were right next to him. "How do you know that for certain, Reyna?" Piper asked again.

"She…She told me telepathically," Reyna said. Hazel turned around to see Nico.

"Did she call you too?" she asked.

Nico nodded. "She said that I needed to get to Camp Half-Blood right away. So I did."

"Now, if you don't mind," Kaida cut in, "Could we please go someplace quiet where I don't have one hundred and fifty swords and spears pointed at me?"

After Chiron approved it, the other campers reluctantly went back to their regular schedules, and the remaining nine had to follow Kaida into the forest. Chiron had refused to follow, saying that he had some important business and that he had complete faith that Percy and the others could handle talking to a dragon. He said it with cheerfulness, but no one was fooled. Chiron was scared, and Chiron was never scared.

The demigods followed Kaida deep into the forest. When they finally stopped, they had walked into a clearing. At its center, there were three shrubs that were in the shape of chairs. The chairs were wilting, their leaves dry and crinkled.

Annabeth and Percy stopped. "The Council of Cloven Elders," Percy said.

Kaida hopped onto the center chair. It made cracking noises like dry wood, but it stayed in one piece. She nipped one of the dry leaves and the whole chair disintegrated. Kaida proceeded to do the same things to the other two chairs. She held the three leaves in her mouth that she had plucked. She burrowed three holes in the ground, each one where a chair used to be.

Kaida planted a leaf in each one, buried it, and a new sprout formed. The whole group gasped except Nico. He just folded his arms and sighed.

"Can we just get on with it? Why is it so important to talk to us?" Nico asked impatiently.

Kaida sat in front of the middle sprout and watched them. "Well, why don't I start with telling you who I am?" She gestured with a claw, and nine new chair-shaped shrubs sprung out of the ground under their feet.

"I am not in any stories, as young Miss Chase pointed out. There's a reason for that.

"I was created by Hephaestus when he was very young. When he was first thrown off the edge of Mount Olympus, he was furious. He may have been young, but he still was a genius. He created me out of metal that he found. I was his very first creation. I was also his most unsuccessful.

"He created me to represent each of the gods. I have many of their powers. I was designed to be the perfect guardian, that way the gods didn't have to be directly involved."

"That's…lazy," Percy said.

Kaida seemed to smile, but it was hard to tell with her dragon face. "I agree. I refused to be their slave, and Hephaestus banished me. He told me that I would wait an eternity for the hero."

"What hero?" Annabeth asked.

Kaida's eyes looked sad. "I didn't know. I did not know for many years. I sat by, watching what is now called history unfold. I heard more things than you can imagine. I believe I mentioned my hearing.

"Due to my, ah, talents, I have gained much wisdom. I will not claim to be as intelligent as Athena, but I am closer than most."

Annabeth snorted.

Kaida glared at her. "Do you not think that a dragon can be wise? I find that rather…discriminatory."

Annabeth looked uncomfortable, and Kaida continued her story. "I heard stories of a hero named Hercules, but somehow I knew he was not the hero I was waiting for. I waited longer and longer, starting to lose hope that I would ever find him or her.

"Then, a few years ago, I heard a rumor about a young hero journeying to the Underworld to retrieve the master bolt for Zeus. I was impressed by that feat, so I listened for any other news of him." She studied Percy, waiting for him to react, but he didn't. He sat on his chair-shrub with no expression on his face. Until he knew if Kaida was friend or foe, Percy didn't want her to know what he reacted to and what he didn't.

"I watched over you, Percy, for a few years," Kaida told him.

Annabeth reached out and held his hand. "So, you stalked him?"

"Call it what you will. However, I prefer 'studying'. I needed to make sure he was the one. I knew he wasn't just any demigod.

"I studied him for a long while. And after your feat last summer, Percy, I knew that you were, in fact, one of the heroes I have been waiting for. However, my father didn't mention that there were nine heroes to look for. I know now that _all_ of you are the heroes I have awaited."

"So? What are we supposed to do?" Nico asked. It was obvious that he was becoming more and more agitated the longer they spoke to the dragon. "And did you only follow Percy?" he added in a much quieter voice.

Kaida looked at him and made that weird dragon smile again. "No, I followed all of you once I realized that I needed all of you. I tracked you all over. Rome, Italy, Greece, _Croatia_."

Nico flinched when she listed the last country. Percy remembered that Nico and Jason had recovered a scepter in Croatia, but he didn't know if anything happened to Nico there.

Percy looked at Jason, and he seemed paler than usual. He glanced nervously at Nico, then noticed Percy staring and fixed his gaze on Kaida.

"Now, as to what you have been called here for, it's simple. I was not waiting for the heroes to help me. I was sent to help them." Kaida looked at each demigod individually. Her eyes seemed to linger on Percy, Jason, and Nico.

"Help us?" Hazel asked. "We already finished our quest. I think you're a little late."

"Yeah," Leo added. "And I'd be happy staying out of quests and stuff for now."

Kaida looked at Leo. "What about Festus? Don't you think that would upset him? He was raised to travel. If you take that away, what will the dragon have left?"

Leo fidgeted even more than usual under Kaida's gaze. "Well, he could always go adventuring with other demigods."

"But you are the only one that can operate that boat," Kaida reminded him. "Either way, whether you want to be a part of things or not, demigods are _always_ involved.

"Now, you asked how I was supposed to help. I know from experience that peace like this doesn't last long, as I am sure all of you aware as well. I am here to make sure that you know each other well enough to work as a unit."

"Work as a unit?" Frank asked.

"Yes. You work well together now, but inevitably, you will go on another adventure together. I cannot tell you when. I simply know that you will. If you hide things from each other, you will only grow apart. That's dangerous for a team to not know each other." Kaida looked at Nico, then Leo, then to Jason. Percy didn't know why she looked at those three in particular, but that made him more suspicious.

It seemed so unreal. A dragon that had nothing to do with any sort of Greek mythology even Annabeth had heard of, claiming to know more about the individuals in the group than their friends. Percy knew enough about monsters to be ready for action any time now. He didn't get any kind of hint that Kaida was evil. On the contrary, she seemed exceedingly kind. She had never lied to them that Percy could tell. She seemed to honestly want to help them work better together. After talking to Kaida for some time, Percy was finding it harder and harder to be suspicious of her. She seemed so truthful and trustworthy.

After a short Q & A, they learned even more about Kaida. She asked for no information about their lives in return. They sat on their shrub-chairs for well over an hour, asking question after question.

Once they had no more questions to ask, Kaida asked, "Are you all ready, then?"

"Ready for what?" Jason asked.

"To learn more about each other, of course. The best way to do that is to put you through a series of trials."

"What kind of trials?" Piper asked suspiciously.

Kaida ignored the question and looked at Hazel. "Well? Are you all ready?"

Hazel looked like she wanted to run away. "Um, I guess so."

"Then I am terribly sorry."

Hazel looked like she might be sick. "Sorry for what?"

"For what I am about to do to your brother."

Faster than the eye could see, Kaida lunged. Nico had no time to protect himself, but it turns out he didn't need to. Kaida went for Percy, not Nico. She plucked him from his chair with her claws and flew up into the forest canopy. Annabeth screamed. Percy reached for his sword, put Kaida was quick. She snatched it from his hand with her tail. She levitated about thirty feet off the ground. Jason flew up toward her with his sword in his hands.

Kaida easily outmaneuvered Jason in flight. She had been flying for thousands of years and Jason couldn't hope to keep up. They soared over the clearing, flying in circles, doing aerial flips and twists to avoid each other. Percy started to notice a pattern. No matter what Jason did, he couldn't hope to make a scratch on Kaida. Kaida was also on the defensive. She never attempted to fight back, only dodge.

Finally, after a few minutes of Jason attacking and Kaida dodging, Kaida made an attack at last. With one swift blow, Kaida knocked Jason out of the air with her tail. Riptide flew from her grasp when she struck Jason. Percy knew that it was only a matter of time until the sword reappeared in pen form in his pocket.

Jason fell to the ground with a thump. Piper ran to make sure he was okay. Kaida flew up until she was about thirty-five feet above the group of demigods.

"I am taking Percy for now. Nico di Angelo knows how to get there, but only Leo knows what the destination is. I will wait for you there." Kaida looked Leo in the eyes. "She will be waiting for you too."

With those parting words, Kaida flew straight toward a large tree. A few feet before she hit the trunk, the shadows seemed to bend around her and in a blink of an eye she was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Leo finds the way back

"Where'd Kaida go!?" The moment Kaida shadow-traveled, Nico stormed toward Leo and got in his face. "Where did Kaida take Percy?"

Annabeth was still staring open-mouthed at the tree Kaida had disappeared next to. Piper and Reyna were helping Jason stand up. Leo was pale and terrified as Nico yelled at him. Frank was trying to prevent Nico from decapitating Leo. It seemed that only Hazel still had a level head. Once Jason was standing up again, Reyna started fighting with Leo about where Percy could've been taken, and Annabeth finally got over her shock and started talking quickly to Nico.

"Everybody calm down!" Hazel ordered. Silence. Everyone looked at Hazel. "We need to stay focused and, most importantly, not kill each other." She glared at Nico. "Now, Kaida said that Leo is supposed to know where they went. Do you know, Leo?"

Leo shook his head. "I'm trying to figure it out, but so far I'm coming up blank."

"You'd better figure it out soon," Nico threatened.

"That's enough, Nico," Hazel said. She never bossed him around, especially since he was older than her, but he actually listened. Hazel recalled sadly that Bianca, Nico's other sister, had been older than him. Maybe he was used to being told what to do by his sister.

"Leo, try to remember. What was that last hint that Kaida dropped? 'She will be waiting for you too'? What's that supposed to mean? Who is 'she'?"

Leo gulped.

"That girl you met," Piper guessed. "When Khione threw you off the ship and you floated to shore on a raft. That's the 'she', isn't it?"

"What? No, that's crazy! I didn't meet a girl out in the middle of the ocean!" Leo babbled.

"Listen, if that's where Kaida took Percy, then stop denying it! Where did you land, exactly, Leo?" Nico said.

Leo's shoulders slumped. "Ogygia. I landed on Ogygia, the island of Calypso."

He said it like _oh-jee-jee-ah._

Annabeth gasped. Everyone turned to look at her. "Percy…Percy's gone back there?"

Leo frowned. "Back? You can't go…" His face turned red with anger. "So it _was_ Percy! I knew it!"

Hazel made a gesture like, _time out._ "Okay, what the heck is Ogygia again?"

"It's the island where a girl named Calypso is imprisoned," Nico explained. "It's been said that heroes accidentally visit her once in a while, but they never stay long. Percy ended up there a few years ago."

"Oh. So what's the big deal? Can't we just go there then?" Hazel asked.

"No," Leo said. "You can only find Ogygia once. That's what…Calypso said. She said that once you leave, you can never come back."

"But Kaida just took Percy there, right? So maybe you can get there by shadow-traveling?" Jason said.

"'Nico knows how to get there, but only Leo knows the destination.' That sounds about right. We must be able to shadow-travel there!" Piper put in.

Nico still seemed a little hesitant to travel that way, but he nodded. "That's the only solution I can think of as well. Leo, where is it?"

"Uh, it doesn't exist."

Nico frowned. "How could you've gone somewhere if it doesn't exist?"

"It exists in a weird way," Annabeth explained. "You can't get there normally. It's very difficult to explain."

Nico sighed. "Everything is always difficult to explain. Well, I guess we'll have to try and see what happens."

They all joined hands in a circle around the tree Kaida had used. They figured it must be special. Annabeth looked in the direction of camp, and said sadly, "Well, goodbye, peaceful summer day."

And with that, they were gone.

They reappeared standing around a good-size oak tree. The weather hadn't really changed that much. The scenery was completely different, though. They were on an island, but the breeze didn't smell salty. It was as though they were in the middle of a lake so huge you couldn't see land. The island looked like a tropical paradise.

"This is Ogygia?" Piper asked.

Jason whistled. "Man, I want to be imprisoned in a place like this."

Leo seemed to be in a daze. He wandered inland. He passed through a beautiful garden with a fountain shooting clean water at its center, then up a hill toward a large cave. He walked inside and found sparkling gems protruding from the walls. It was spectacular, but he had expected to see Calypso. She wasn't there.

Just then, Leo heard the sound of wing beats and then something landed outside the cave.

"Well, it took you all long enough," Kaida said.

Leo turned to face her and was stunned by what he saw.

Kaida was full-size again, so she must've gone back and gotten her full body before going to Ogygia. She had what looked like a bronze bird cage. It was about seven feet tall and she had her front talon resting on it. Inside were Percy and Calypso.

The rest of the group came running through the garden. "Leo! Where'd you go?" Annabeth called. She stopped short when she saw Kaida.

"Percy, are you okay?" she asked.

Percy nodded. "I don't know what she wants, but I can't get through the bars. I think they might be Celestial Bronze. Riptide isn't strong enough to get us out."

Nico drew his sword. "Kaida, let them go."

Soon all of the demigods had drawn their weapons. Kaida made a _tsk tsk_ sound. "This trial is for Nico and Leo only. The rest of you need to let them be, I'm afraid."

Leo summoned a ball of fire. "What do you mean this trial is for me and Nico? What do you want us to do?"

Kaida smiled. "Why, I want you to confront your feelings, of course."

Nico tightened his grip on his sword and Jason made a strangled yelp.

"Jason? What's wrong?" Piper asked.

"Nothing…Nothing. I'm fine." Leo thought that he looked paler than usual, but he decided not to worry about it.

Leo looked in the cage and noticed Calypso staring at him. He grinned. "See? I told you I'd be back." He turned his attention to Kaida. "So? What do you mean, confront our feelings?"

Leo thought he heard Nico mutter something about Cupid under his breath, which made no sense to Leo.

"Well, I don't think I want to play your little game, Kaida. I think I'll fight to get my friends back, thank you very much." And with that, Leo charged.

Percy had seen a lot of strange things and had a lot of strange things happen to him, but being kidnapped by a dragon and being imprisoned with Calypso, who he hadn't seen in a few years, definitely made his top twenty.

As Leo threw fireballs at Kaida, Annabeth and Nico ran to the cage.

"Percy! Are you all right?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I've been better, but I suppose it could be worse."

"We'll get you out," Nico promised.

Percy looked up at all of his friends, both new and old, and realized again just how lucky he was. They were all fighting a giant metal dragon to save him. Kaida had moved away from the cage to fight them, so Nico and Annabeth were at a relatively safe distance. The two of them hacked at the bars, but with no luck. The cage was just too strong.

"You can't break that cage," Kaida told them from ten feet away. She was swatting their friends aside like flies. They couldn't possibly hope to win. "Only I can release them."

"We have to be able to stop her," Nico muttered. "There's got to be a way."

Annabeth swung her sword with so much momentum she fell to the grass. Nico was so lost in thought that it took him a moment to see that she had fallen. He reluctantly held out a hand for her to get up.

"Thanks," she mumbled. "How are we supposed to get them out?"

Nico's face was grim. "I have to do the trial."

The fighting stopped. "But Nico," Annabeth protested. "You don't even know what the trial is!"

Nico looked at Percy for a moment. He looked pained. "Yes I do." He turned to face Kaida. "I'll do the trial."

"Excellent. Leo Valdez, would you be so kind as to agree to the trial as well?"

Leo nodded uncertainly.

Kaida laughed. "Then let us begin."

She took to the sky and snatched the cage off the ground with her tail. She flew to the top of a large hill. "Only Nico can approach. If any of the others try to reach me, I will fly away."

They were far enough away from the group that Percy couldn't really see them. They looked very small, so he assumed that they must be over a hundred yards away. A person broke away from the group and started to climb the hill. It was Nico.

Kaida moved the cage off to her right and sat with her paws together and her head up, like she was royalty. When Nico arrived, Kaida announced loud enough for everyone to hear, "The first trial is the trial of love."

Nico looked like he might be sick. He looked at Percy in dismay, but quickly refocused on Kaida.

"This trial is easy." Kaida gestured with her claw at the cage. "Save the one you love, and I spare them both. Lie, and they both perish."

"Love?" Calypso muttered. Percy had almost forgotten she was there. He didn't know why she sounded so confused. It made sense to Percy. Nico must've landed on Calypso's island at some point. As long as Nico saved her, they'd both be okay. Percy didn't see any problems.

No one was surprised by the terms of the trial. Even Nico looked he had been expecting it. Still, Percy found it a little hard to believe that Nico had fallen in love with anyone. He was always so quiet and moody; he didn't seem to get emotionally attached to anyone.

Slowly, Nico approached the cage. Percy went rigid. So did Calypso. In sync, they stood up and faced the door of the giant bird cage. Percy couldn't move. He figured Kaida was controlling him and Calypso. Nico touched the cage door, and it swung open.

Nico stood there for a moment, looking back and forth between Calypso and Percy, indecision seemingly torturing him. Percy wanted to say _Hurry up and save her so we can get out of here!_ but his voice wouldn't work under Kaida's magic.

Nico started to reach into the cage. Percy's and Calypso's hands both reached for Nico's of their own accord. Nico's hand was only a few inches away from both of their hands. He stopped moving, and Percy saw a tear glittering in the sunshine as it raced down his cheek. Nico reached forward and grabbed Percy's hand.

Calypso's hand fell to her side, and Percy involuntarily walked out of the cage. Once he was out, Nico let go of his hand. Percy looked at him, but Nico wouldn't meet his eyes.

Percy tensed, waiting for Kaida to say _Wrong answer!_ He waited for her to smash the cage and eat him, but she sat there, perfectly still, watching him. She was waiting, he realized. But what was she waiting for him to do? At last, she spoke.

"You have chosen, Nico, and I will honor my promise." She raised her claw over the cage and Percy thought she would crush it, but instead the cage folded itself up and retracted into her paw. Calypso sank to the grass.

Percy found his voice. "Wait, I thought that you were supposed to kill us if Nico picked the wrong…" Then it hit him. Nico _had_ saved the one he loved. Nico finally met Percy's eyes. "You…" Percy couldn't find the right words.

Nico turned to Kaida. "There! Are you happy now? He knows!" Nico turned to run away, but Percy grabbed his arm. Nico was crying now. Percy wanted to say something, but what could he say?

Nico glared him over his shoulder, and Percy thought he was going to hit him, but instead Nico turned around and hugged Percy.

"I'm sorry," Nico said between sobs.

Percy stood there for a moment, so completely stunned that he couldn't move or speak. Percy knew he had to do something.

Percy put his arms around Nico. "Shhh. It's okay, Nico."

He looked up at Percy with teary eyes. "Really? Is it really okay? You don't…You don't hate me?"

"Why would I hate you?" Percy asked.

"I'm…I'm so different. And then there's you and Annabeth…" His voice broke.

Percy didn't know what to say, so he just held Nico as he cried.

Percy heard a collective gasp come from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Jason, Piper, Leo, Reyna, Hazel, Frank, and Annabeth staring at the two of them in shock.

Annabeth took a tentative step forward. "Um, Percy…?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you hugging Nico?"

"Ummm." Percy wasn't sure what to say. He looked at Nico, and then back at Annabeth. Before he could think of anything to explain, Nico stepped back.

"Nico?" Jason asked. Nico nodded. Percy realized that Jason must've known about this the whole time.

"You…Nico, you're in love with Percy aren't you?" Hazel asked. Annabeth looked white with shock. Reyna just looked really confused, as did Frank. Leo was helping Calypso stand up.

Nico looked Annabeth in the eyes, but answered Hazel's question. "Yes."

"All this time?" Annabeth asked. "All this time, you've been in love with Percy?"

Piper looked at Nico. "Wait, I thought that he…" She pointed from Nico to Annabeth and back a few times. Jason put his hand on her arm, and she stopped talking.

A fresh stream of tears ran down Nico's cheeks. He nodded sadly. Annabeth slowly walked toward Nico. She put her hand on his shoulder, and looked him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Nico looked away. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"For what you must've gone through, watching us be together."

"You don't know anything about me."

Annabeth made a weak smile. "I know that. I'll never know you as well as I'd like, Nico, but I do know that you're a good person."

The compliment took Nico by surprise. He seemed very unsure of where to look.

"Annabeth," Percy said gently. She turned away from Nico. She walked over to the others, who, except for Hazel and Jason, were staring at Nico like he had a third arm.

"Stop that! It's rude to stare," Annabeth told them. They averted their eyes.

"Um, Percy?" Percy turned back around to see Nico looking at him. Without realizing it, Percy had watched Annabeth walk away, which probably was pretty rude to Nico. "Yeah?"

"Can we talk for a second?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

They walked a little ways away, out of earshot.

"Sorry for bringing you into this mess," Nico said.

"Mess?" Percy asked.

"Well, they were all staring at you, so I thought that might've made you a bit uncomfortable."

Percy shrugged. In all truthfulness, it _had_ made him a bit more uncomfortable, but he didn't want Nico to know that.

"So…?" Percy prompted.

Nico sighed. "It…I never wanted you to know. I thought that you would think that I was weird."

Percy didn't want to pry, but he was a little curious about Nico now. He opened his mouth to say something, but Nico must've known what he was going to say.

"When I met you," Nico said.

"Uh, what?" Percy asked.

"It started when I met you. Even when I said that I hated you, I really didn't. I left because I didn't want to be around you, but not because I hated you."

"It was the opposite," Percy said.

Nico nodded. It was obviously a difficult subject for him. Nico took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not expecting you to feel the same way, and that's why I thought it was a waste of time to tell you. I didn't want to push you away."

He looked Percy in the eye, waiting for him to say something. "Look, you aren't going to push me away that easily. I'm a pretty difficult guy to get rid of."

Nico smiled, and Percy finally felt like he had said something right.

"Um…Do you mind if we stay friends, then?" Nico asked.

Percy smiled. "Sure. I wouldn't mind that at all. Annabeth was right. You're a good person and a good friend."

Percy hugged him, and when he pulled away he could've sworn Nico was blushing. Nico smiled again and wiped away his tears. They walked back to their friends.

Percy pulled Annabeth aside and told her what had happened. Nico talked to Hazel about how she had already known.

"You're my brother. How could I not notice the signs?" Hazel smiled warmly, and Nico hugged her.

There was an awkward silence among just about everyone.

"Leo, how did you come back to me?" Calypso asked.

Leo blushed and grinned. "Well, I swore that I would come back to you, and now I have."

Calypso hugged him. Leo noticed that everyone was staring at the pair of them and he looked embarrassed.

"What?"

Piper smiled. "Looks like Leo finally got himself a girlfriend."

"It appears that way, doesn't it?"

Everyone turned to face Kaida. They had all gotten so wrapped up in things they forgot she was there.

Leo put his arm protectively around Calypso. "What's my part of the trial?"

Kaida blinked at him. "You already surpassed it."

"How?" Calypso asked.

"He allowed someone else to save the one he loved, knowing that they could defend her better than he could've on his own."

"Well, I don't know about better," Leo grumbled.

"Then he faced his feelings. He admitted that he loved you, did he not?"

Everyone turned to stare at him. Leo noticed that Nico was smiling. Just seeing that creepy guy looking happy made Leo's skin crawl.

"How did you even know that?"

"When?" Piper asked.

"As they hugged, he whispered it to her," Kaida informed them. Leo face-palmed. Kaida had super powerful hearing, so of course she heard that.

"Now on to the second trial," Kaida announced.

"Wait, there's a second one?" Percy asked.

Kaida nodded. "And this one was the easiest. All this was designed to do was make you all face your emotions. Next we make you face your fears."

Annabeth raised her hand like she was in class. "Um, I traveled by myself to face Arachne, then fell into Tartarus right after that. Have I technically faced my fears yet?"

Kaida laughed. "You have only faced a few of your worst fears, my dear."

"You know, I'm liking this dragon less and less as we go," Leo mumbled  
"That's understandable, but my job is not to be liked. It is to assist."

"Well, maybe we don't need your 'assistance'," Piper commented.

"You do not_ want_ it, but you do need it," Kaida said. "Now, on to the next set of trials!"

Kaida opened her wings to their fullest extent, but instead of flying, she enveloped them all in a shroud of darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Facing fears

"Percy?" Annabeth reached out, but there was nothing in front of her. It was too dark to see anything, even her fingers in front of her face. She stumbled twice as she walked around. She had no idea what she could've tripped on, but she kept stumbling along. She noticed that there were no other sounds. Her voice echoed endlessly, like she was suddenly in the middle of a giant cave.

Finally, Annabeth's hand touched something. It felt like fabric. She gripped it, and someone yelped. She knew it must be someone's shirt.

"Something's touching me…" Percy whimpered.

Annabeth's eyes seemed to adjust to the small amount of light. Percy was in front of her, and he was curled up on the ground in the fetal position. He was rocking back in forth, like something had really scared him.

Annabeth crouched down to look him in the eyes, but she never let go of his shirt, afraid that he might disappear if she did.

"Percy, what happened to you? What's wrong?"

He looked her in the eye for a second, but he didn't seem to register that she was there. Out of nowhere, a hellhound bounded out of the darkness toward them. It was the size of Cerberus, the ghost dog that guards the entrance to the Underworld. Annabeth yelped and started trying to drag Percy away, but they would never make it in time if Percy didn't get up and help.

"Percy!" Annabeth protested. He was dragged along limply, mumbling something inaudible.

Meanwhile, the hellhound was gaining rapidly. "Percy!" Annabeth yelled desperately. Her tone seemed to shock him back to reality. He stood up and drew Riptide. He stopped moving, ready to fight off the hellhound.

"Percy! We'll never be able to beat it. It's even bigger than Mrs. O'Leary!" Annabeth grabbed his arm, but he wouldn't move.

"Go. I'll distract it." He wouldn't look at her. He kept his eyes focused on the hound. Annabeth was crying. She couldn't possibly let him fight it by himself. She drew her sword.

Percy looked at her. His eyes weren't right. They were glowing, and they were pure red. He glared at Annabeth, and she flinched. He yanked her sword out of her hands and shoved her away. She stumbled and fell, but where there should have been ground, there was nothing. She started to fall, watching Percy fight a hopeless battle against a hellhound the size of a small mountain.

Something grabbed her around the waist, and suddenly she was floating above the battle.

"Watch him die," Arachne whispered in her ear.

Annabeth kicked and screamed, but Arachne wouldn't let go. She watched in horror as Percy made the wrong move. He tripped on something invisible, and the hellhound pounced. Percy screamed in agony as the hound picked him up in its mouth like a chew toy and bounded off, disappearing in the dark.

"PERCY!" Annabeth screamed into the cold darkness while Arachne's hissing laughter echoed alongside her.

Leo was starting to get creeped out. He had been walking around and he was pretty sure he would've hit Kaida's wing by now. He knew that if he kept going straight, he would find the end, but no such luck. He couldn't find anything.

"Hello?" Leo called for the billionth time. His voice echoed back at him, but no one responded. He didn't see how there could be an echo with nothing for it to bounce off of, but it seemed to do just fine with empty space.

"ANYONE?"

"Leo?" Calypso's voice answered.

"Calypso?" Leo's heart raced at the sound of her voice. "Where are you?"

"Here."

Leo kept walking, and she seemed to materialize in front of him. She collapsed in his arms, and they sank to the ground.

Suddenly Calypso looked away into the darkness. "He is here."

A dark form, even darker than the rest of the darkness surrounding them, approached.

"Clytius." Leo stood up and confronted the giant. His hand caught fire, but Clytius inhaled, and the fire went out. Leo reached down to grab something from his tool belt, but it was gone.

Clytius approached faster than Leo would've thought possible, and he snatched up Calypso. She screamed as the giant carried her away into the darkness. Leo pursued, but he couldn't stop the giant. The monster turned around to look at Leo and something was wrong. The giant wasn't supposed to have red eyes, but he definitely did. Glowing ruby eyes froze Leo in place.

He laughed—which shouldn't have been possible, because Clytius was supposed to be silent—and the sound echoed into the darkness as Leo tried in vain to save the one he loved.

"Annabeth!" Percy walked around what must've been circles, because he wasn't getting anywhere. He cursed in Greek as he tripped again. He felt like he had been searching for ages, but still no one was answering him.

A figure seemed to appear in front of him. He turned around, and Percy froze. It was Luke.

"But…" Percy was at a loss for words. Then he saw who was next to Luke, and rage bubbled up inside of him.

Luke smiled in a not-very-friendly way.

"Percy!" Annabeth's face lit up when she saw him. "Luke's good again! Can you believe it? I told you he was good." She was holding his hand.

"Annabeth." Percy could hardly speak past the lump in his throat. "He isn't good. Don't believe him."

She didn't seem to hear him.

"Yes, Kronos couldn't control me forever." Luke smiled again at Percy, and it made Percy's skin crawl.

Annabeth threw her arms around Luke. While her back was turned, Luke raised his knife. He positioned it over Annabeth's back, right where her heart was.

"NO!" Percy surged forward, drawing Riptide. Luke pushed Annabeth to the ground. Percy was faster. He thrust Riptide through Luke's shirt, and the sword went right through him. Percy backed up, not comprehending what he saw.

"Percy! What have you done?" Annabeth pulled the sword from Luke's chest, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Luke…" Annabeth looked at Percy with absolute hatred, and he stumbled back in

"He…he deserved to die." Percy looked her in the eye, and something changed in her expression. It went from hate to sadness. She raced into his arms, and he held her.

"I'm sorry." He didn't really get why she had changed expressions so quickly, but he didn't really care at the moment.

She tilted her head up; eyes closed, she kissed him.

_Okay,_ he thought, _that was weird. But at least she isn't mad at me._

He gasped as a sharp pain burned in his chest, right where his heart was. Annabeth pulled away and opened her eyes. They were completely crimson and seemed to glow.

"What…?" Percy gasped. He looked down to see the dagger Annabeth had received from Luke so long ago protruding from his chest.

"I'm with Luke this time. You're in the way," Annabeth told him. Behind her, Luke stood up, looking better than ever, his eyes pure gold.

"Kronos," Percy said.

Kronos and Annabeth laughed at Percy's pain, and their combined voices echoed without end.

"Now," Kronos said. "Let's see how well you swim in _my_ ocean, son of the sea god." He flicked his hand, and dark liquid rose up around Percy. Annabeth and Kronos didn't seem to be affected, but Percy couldn't breathe. It felt like water, but he couldn't control it. It swirled around him, taking the air out of his lungs and causing him to lose his concentration.

Panic seized him as the dark water pulled him down, Annabeth and Kronos watching him with satisfaction. Both of their eyes were glowing maliciously. They were completely red.

Nico cursed in Ancient Greek as he tripped on something invisible for the twenty-fourth time. He walked along with his sword drawn.

_Trial of Fears._

Nico didn't know what Kaida had meant by that, but he knew that it wasn't good.

He noticed a small light ahead of him. He wandered toward it, and was blinded by the light as he stepped through the opening.

When his vision cleared, Nico saw that he was standing in the middle of a wedding. There were people milling around in fancy outfits, like two celebrities were getting married. A man and a woman stood at the altar. Everyone else took seats.

Nico couldn't tell what his surroundings were. They seemed to switch from a backyard to a beach to a church and back again. The only constant things were rows of chairs, the people, and the altar at the front.

Nico examined the couple at the front. The man was tall, with black hair and glinting green eyes. The woman was about the same height as the man, and she had blond hair that tumbled down her shoulders elegantly and stormy gray eyes.

A priest stepped up and started the wedding. After the usual questions about whether the man would care for her always and such, Nico was wondering how this could be his worst fear. He slipped into a seat toward the back that was empty.

"I do," the man said.

The world seemed to tilt sideways, and suddenly Nico understood. It was Percy's voice.

Nico realized that he was watching Percy and Annabeth's wedding. His eyes stung. He got up and started to walk toward the exit, but suddenly the older Percy and Annabeth were in front of him. Older Percy was looking at Nico, but he addressed Annabeth.

"Who invited _him?_"

"I don't know. I thought you didn't want this little freak here," Annabeth replied coldly.

Nico turned to go the opposite direction, but suddenly there were others in his way.

He looked into the faces of Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, and Frank. They were all taller and older.

Hazel glared at Nico. "What happened this time, squirt? Did you get trapped at the Lotus Hotel again? You've been gone for _ten years_."

Jason wouldn't look at Nico, but waved his hand in front of his nose like he smelled sewage. "Who let this hellhound in here? I knew that I never should've tried to befriend you, Nico. You just get in the way."

"Yes," Piper agreed, "He just won't go away, will he?"

A girl shoved through the crowd of older demigods. She was taller than Nico, with his dark hair and olive skin. She had almond eyes and seemed to have a silvery glow about her.

"B-Bianca?" Nico stammered.

Bianca looked at him with distaste. "Pathetic."

Nico stumbled backward. Bianca never used that tone of voice in her life. She was always kind. She would never look down on anyone, especially her own brother.

"What?" he asked.

"I vowed to give up love. I vowed to never fall in love with a boy. Little did I know that my own brother wouldn't be able to do the same thing. Disgusting. What would Mother say?"

Nico's mind was on overload. Everything that he had ever feared was happening.

_Be strong, Nico,_ a voice whispered in the back of his mind. _Kaida is making this happen. She wants you to face your worst nightmare. Fight through it. It will be over soon. I promise._

Nico recognized the voice. "Percy?"

_Yes. I've managed to get out of my nightmare, but I can't get everyone else out. I can only tell you what to do from outside._

"How do I know that you aren't another trick by Kaida?" Nico asked suspiciously.

_You've certainly gotten wiser._ Percy materialized in front of him. He was the normal Percy, not the older one that was standing behind Nico.

"What?" He looked confused. "I was…just outside. How'd I get here?" He noticed the older version of him and Annabeth behind Nico. His eyes widened. "Whoa."

Nico leveled his sword tip at Percy's throat. "What are you?"

Percy put his hands up in surrender. "Relax. It's the real me."

A disembodied voice said, _If you wish to help Nico di Angelo so much, Percy Jackson, I am happy to oblige. You will share his nightmare, even though you have already faced your own._

"Wait, I thought that was what was so bad about this trial. You have to face it alone, right?" Nico asked Kaida.

_Ah, but this way is _so _much more fun. Now the real Percy will know more about you. Isn't that lovely? _She cackled wickedly, then went silent._ But I suppose you do have a point. Very well. Percy cannot help you. He can only watch from afar._

Percy started to turn into vapor, and in a few seconds he was almost completely gone. Nico cried out and tried to grab Percy's arm, but the mist dissipated.

Nico was alone in an empty church. He decided to keep moving. He walked toward the front of the church and the floor started to crumble. A chasm appeared in front of him. He looked into it and instantly knew that it was an entrance to Tartarus.

Percy was hanging from a ledge about fifteen feet down. "Nico! Help me!"

He was holding Annabeth by the arm, but she was being pulled at by an invisible force, dragging the both of them down.

Nico knew the scene all too well. He was reliving the moment Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus last summer in Rome.

Percy lost his grip and Annabeth fell into the pit. But this time Percy had let go of Annabeth and not the ledge. He was still there, holding his now free hand out to Nico. Though it shouldn't have been possible from the distance between them, Nico managed to grab Percy's hand and start to pull him out of the pit. Just when Percy was almost to the edge, a cold laugh echoed behind them.

Nico glanced behind him to see Jason with his sword drawn. He had deep red eyes with no whites or pupils. Nico's heart almost stopped. Jason's eyes were identical to those of Cupid.

Nico looked back down at Percy and saw that his eyes were red now. He gripped Nico's shirt and kicked off the side of the pit, bringing Nico with him.

They plunged into Tartarus. Nico felt Percy push him away, and soon it was too dark to see where he had gone. Nico fell, completely alone, back to the depths of the place he hated most.

_It's fake, Nico. Remember that. Come back to the real world,_ Percy's voice whispered.

Nico looked down and was surprised to see a jagged black spike of rock hurtling toward him. He hit the tip, and the world went white.

When the world came back into focus, Nico was lying on his back looking at a blue sky and a face. He sat bolt upright.

"Whoa, calm down," Percy said.

Nico looked around frantically. He was sitting on the grassy hill where Kaida had imprisoned them. Percy was kneeling next to him on the grass, his sea-green eyes full of concern. He tried to put his hand on Nico's shoulder, but Nico recoiled.

"What's going on?" Nico demanded.

"You made it out. You faced your fears," Percy told him.

Nico sneered. "Yeah right. I bet you're another illusion."

"We are no illusion." Nico stood up and turned around to see Kaida behind them. He couldn't stand up for long, though. He was still too weak. He fell back down and would've ended up lying down again if Percy hadn't caught him. Nico couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Kaida's wings were suddenly transparent, curved into an enormous dome, and the inside of the dome was pitch-black. Jason, Leo, Annabeth, Hazel, Frank, Reyna, and Piper were milling around in tight circles inside. They looked like they were talking, but Nico couldn't hear their voices. Their eyes looked glazed over, and Hazel suddenly fell to ground and let loose a silent scream of pure terror.

"They're…" Nico didn't know how to describe them.

"In a trance, I think," Percy said behind him. "I think Kaida can manipulate the Mist. You were doing that too, you know."

Nico watched Annabeth. She seemed to be in a loop. She would walk around with her hands out, crouch down like she was talking to a fallen person, run in circles in terror, and fall over. Then she would stand up really fast, like someone had picked her up. Then she kicked and fought against something invisible. From there she started over. She repeated the cycle several times as Nico watched.

"Why did you…" Nico stopped midsentence. He knew that Percy hadn't really entered his nightmare. It wasn't possible to interfere, and if Percy did know how to interfere, he would've helped Annabeth, not Nico.

"Why did I help you and not Annabeth?" Percy finished. "Because Kaida let me look into each of the nightmares. Yours seemed to be the most vivid. I thought that you looked like you could use my help more than anyone else."

Nico's face felt warm. "You…you could see my nightmare?"

"Yeah. Yours was much worse than the other's. They have vague scenarios they keep replaying, and until they realize what's happening or learn how to stop it, they can't get out. Every time the cycle restarts, they lose their memory of the previous time. They could literally keep this up forever. But I know that they'll stop the cycle eventually."

"How many times did I go through the nightmare? Do you know?" Nico asked.

"Do you remember how many times you tripped on something invisible?"

Nico frowned. "Twenty-four times. Why?"

Percy smiled. "Because you trip the same amount of times you've already been through the cycle."

Nico thought about that for a moment "How did my cycle go? You know, before you broke it? What happened at the end?"

"Well, it still started the same way. Everyone still turned on you, including…" Percy didn't finish, but Nico knew that he was talking about Bianca. "Then," Percy continued, "they would all draw their weapons. You would run through a dark forest, I think it was the one at Camp Half-Blood, with all of us hunting you down. Everyone's fears end the same way, though. We die. They all betrayed you and hated you."

Percy stopped when he saw Nico's expression. "I thought that was even worse than everyone dying at the end."

Percy couldn't tell the rest of the details on Nico's fears. He felt like an intruder that he knew what they were in the first place.

He had left out major details and lied in the parts he had told Nico as well.

Bianca led the hunt for Nico through the forest. They cornered him and aimed their weapons. But each time, instead of attacking Nico, Percy's illusionary self would stab Bianca. She would die at Nico's feet, then Percy would get stabbed in the back by Jason.

Nico would have to watch as the fake Percy died in his arms, then Annabeth would stab Nico through the heart, and the cycle would start over.

It had been so painful for Percy to watch that he knew he had to help. Kaida had put him into the dream, but then restricted him to watching and whispering to Nico.

Nico examined Percy's face, and Percy knew that Nico could tell he was holding back information, but he didn't seem to want to know.

"So, we just wait for them to figure it out? Is that it?" he asked.

Percy was relieved by the change in the subject. He nodded. "Yeah. I figured it out after about a dozen times, according to Calypso. They should catch on soon enough."

Nico looked around. "Where is Calypso?"

"She went down to the garden to get some food. She said that mortal terror tends to make people hungry and thought that we would appreciate some lunch when we all get out."

Nico nodded, flopping onto his back like he was suddenly tired. "Then I think I'll get a nap while we wait." He curled into a ball, facing away from Percy.

Percy knew that he couldn't sleep for a week after living through his nightmare, and he figured Nico couldn't either. Nico just didn't want to talk anymore, and Percy could understand. Nico looked a bit shaky, possibly from residual fear, possibly exhaustion, or maybe a combination of both.

Percy watched sadly as Annabeth roamed in her nightmare, screaming and falling over again and again. He turned his attention to Hazel.

Hazel's fear was terrible. Percy remembered all too well each of his friends' worst fears now that he had seen them. Hazel had been in a dark cave as it rained down on her and a woman that Percy suspected was Hazel's mother. From there, the dream changed to Hazel in combat, incapacitated in the field while Frank and Nico fought someone. Percy couldn't tell who, because they were always shrouded in some kind of fog. Hazel would have to witness her boyfriend's and brother's deaths repeatedly.

All of their fears were disturbingly similar. Percy figured that was because they had all lived through the same things.

"Someone else escaped?" a voice behind Percy asked, nearly making him jump out of his skin.

He had been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed Calypso walking up behind him. She had a basket of fruit and vegetables under her arm. She had jeans and a white T-shirt on. When Percy had first visited Calypso a few years ago, she only wore a white dress all the time, but he had to admit that she looked good in casual wear.

"Yeah," Percy managed. He realized that he had been staring, and immediately felt bad. Annabeth was only twenty feet away, stumbling around, thinking that Percy was dying.

Calypso examined Nico. "I'm surprised he made it out so quickly. I thought the girl Annabeth would make it out faster." Calypso said the name _Annabeth_ with the same tone of voice she used when she talked about how the gods had locked her away on this island. Percy didn't blame her for disliking Annabeth, even though they had never spoken.

Next to Percy, Nico snorted. Percy wasn't sure if he was snoring in his sleep, or if he was insulted that Calypso thought Annabeth was smarter than him.

"Um, he had a little help, but I think he would've figured it out pretty fast either way." Percy glanced nervously at Nico. He was pretty sure Nico was wide awake, and he didn't want him to have a grudge against Calypso for saying the wrong thing.

Calypso plopped down on the opposite side of Percy, her hand momentarily covering his. She moved her hand away an instant later, but the contact still made Percy blush. She seemed a little red-faced too, but she shook it off and plucked an apple from her basket. She munched sadly on it as she watched Leo wander in circles.

"You love him, don't you?" Percy asked.

Calypso almost dropped her apple. "Who?"

"Leo. I noticed you watching him, and I heard he visited you last summer."

She laughed nervously, but she blinked back tears. "Yes, he was a guest of mine, but I couldn't love a scrawny kid like him."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "I was pretty scrawny myself when I visited you the first time, remember?"

Calypso's face looked even sadder as she remembered Percy's first visit. She looked down. "This girl," she said quietly. "Did you leave the island because of the war, or because of her?"

Percy had asked himself the same thing dozens of times over the years. He didn't know which reason had made him leave Calypso behind.

"I really don't know," he told her honestly. "I've never been able to figure that out."

Calypso seemed unsatisfied with his answer, but she accepted it. She continued eating her apple in silence, staring forlornly at Leo.

Percy must've dosed off at some point. When he woke up, he heard talking nearby. He sat up. Hazel was on the ground, Nico trying to drag her away from Kaida's wings with Calypso's help.

"Hazel?" Percy muttered sleepily. No one acknowledged his question.

Nico fed some ambrosia to Hazel, and she sat up with a blood-curdling scream. She clung to Nico and almost knocked him over.

"Hazel! Hazel, everything's okay now. Don't worry. I'm here." Percy wondered if Nico's experience fighting his fears really had helped him. He didn't flinch when Hazel wrapped her arms around his waist, crying and mumbling about how she couldn't believe he was alive. Normally, he couldn't stand physical contact with anyone, even Hazel.

Nico calmly held her, whispering that it was okay now. Pretty soon, Hazel stopped crying.

"Well, that was embarrassing," Hazel said, wiping her tears away.

Percy smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I had a similar reaction when I first woke up."

"I had to hold him down to prevent him from trying to kill Kaida for putting him through that," Calypso added.

"After all, you did just live through your worst nightmare." Nico looked impressed but also sad. Percy thought that maybe he was thinking about his own personal fears.

Percy heard a strange bubbling noise behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see a blob of darkness emerging from the side of Kaida's wing. It looked all too similar to the way monsters were reborn on the field of Tartarus. The blob popped, and Annabeth tumbled out.

Percy jumped up from where he'd slept and started carrying her away from the wing, afraid that someone else might pop out of top of her. She looked pale and sickly, the way everyone does after being so terrified they pass out.

Percy carefully dragged Annabeth to a soft patch of grass and sat by her side. He knew she would wake up after a few moments, so he decided to wait.

He happened to glance over at Nico, who was talking quietly to Hazel. She must've been telling him what had happened to her in the darkness. Nico looked sad and…was that sympathy? Percy wasn't sure. Nico had never shown sympathy that Percy had ever seen.

Well duh, Percy thought. Of _course_ he would show sympathy in this situation. He just lived it too.

Nico glanced over in Percy's direction, but he seemed resentful. Not toward Percy, but toward Annabeth, Percy realized.

"What? What happened?" Annabeth sat up like she had water splashed on her face. She gripped Percy's arm, and her nails dug into his skin.

"Ow. I still have nerves, you know," he reminded her.

Her grip loosened a bit. "Sorry. You're alive!"

She kissed him, then looked around. She looked a little embarrassed when she spotted Nico watching them.

"What happened?" she asked again.

Percy told her about the hallucinogenic shroud that was inside Kaida's wings and what it did.

"Fifty-eight," Annabeth mumbled.

Percy tilted his head. "Fifty-eight what?"

"I tripped fifty-eight times. I lived through my nightmare that many times. I can't believe I didn't catch on sooner," she scolded herself.

"Hey, there's no reason to beat yourself up about it." He put his hand on hers.

She looked at him miserably. "How many times did it take you?"

"Um, about a dozen."

Annabeth smacked her forehead. "I can't _believe_ it took me so long!"

"Hey, it isn't the end of the world if you don't figure it out first."

"But it _could_ be! I'm Athena's daughter. I'm supposed to be smarter than this!"

From a few feet away, Percy heard Nico cough, and he thought that the son of Hades was suppressing a smug smile. He saw Percy's expression and his smile quickly faded.

"Do you want some lunch?" Percy asked.

One by one, everyone else finished their trials of fear. They all woke up screaming and kicking. It took some doing to make sure they didn't hurt anyone in all their thrashing. Once they were all out, Calypso offered everyone lunch. Annabeth had already eaten and Hazel was still a little sick, so they declined, but everyone else ate. Hazel wouldn't leave Nico's side since having her hallucination.

"Are you having a good time?"

Everyone jumped. They had been so involved in their food and getting over their shock, they hadn't even noticed that Kaida had folded her wings and was now laying her head beside the group.

"No," Hazel told her. She was sitting so close to Nico that their shoulders were touching, but he didn't seem to mind. She was also holding Frank's hand, who was making his best attempt to eat a sandwich one-handed.

Kaida's eyes glinted, but Jason couldn't tell if it was from amusement or sadness.

"Well, you may dislike it now," Kaida said calmly. "But I assure you that this is necessary. It seems you are, ah, _closer_ to your brother now. I would say that everything is going smoothly."

Nico reached for his sword, but Piper intervened. "Alright, we need to calm down."

She must've been putting some charmspeak into her voice, because everyone seemed to relax simultaneously. Jason was grateful for that. The last thing they needed right then was Nico trying to kill an immortal dragon.

"Hmmm," Kaida mused. "Interesting. Your Aphrodite charms are quite helpful, are they not? I only wish that I had some of the same power. I may have wisdom on my side, yet you are more persuasive. A useful tool."

Piper looked uneasy, but Kaida didn't continue. She seemed to shut down, and everyone braced themselves. Kaida's small version crawled out of the larger shell's mouth, and she sat calmly between Leo and Piper. They didn't look happy, but they didn't complain.

Kaida looked at Calypso. "Do you mind if I join all of you?"

Calypso gestured at the food spread out in the center of the circle. "Please, go right ahead."

She had a slight undertone like: _But I hope that what you eat is poisoned._

Kaida snapped up an apple and calmly crunched on it while all ten people present watched her apprehensively. She swallowed.

"What? Haven't you ever seen a dragon eat before?" she demanded.

Jason thought that response was the most humanoid thing Kaida had ever said. She seemed so childish, saying it that way.

"Well, we're just waiting for you to say something like _time to see how long you live in a pit of spiders for your next trial! Won't that be fun?_" Leo said.

Annabeth shuddered at the mention of spiders. Percy put his arm protectively around her shoulders. Jason glanced at Nico, but Nico's attention was on Kaida.

"Well, I may be in charge of your trials, demigods, but I am not uncivil. I will give you all some time to recover from facing your fears. I know that probably shook you quite a bit."

"_Quite a bit_?" Hazel growled. Jason had never heard her sound so angry. Whatever she had lived through, it was obvious she would never forgive Kaida.

Kaida ignored the comment. "So please, enjoy your meal, and afterwards, with Calypso's permission of course, I plan to stay on the island for a while as a short break."

Calypso looked at the demigods' tired faces. "Yes, you all may stay as long as you need to."

Kaida looked cheerily through the group. "Well, I believe this is now the official _break time!_"


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note

I have a poll going on from November 19th, 2013 until November 30th, 2013.

This poll is to let the fans of this story decide who Percy falls in love with. Please vote! I want to know what you guys think!

Also, I thank you for following the story this far! You guys are awesome!

Chapter four

Break time

Hazel would've dropped her food if she'd had any.

Kaida couldn't be serious. A break time? Demigods don't get breaks. They just fight monsters until they drop. Monsters just don't give them breaks.

But Kaida wasn't a monster, Hazel realized. Kaida was a dragon with super-human intelligence.

"A break time?" Nico asked.

Kaida smiled her creepy dragon smile. "Yes. I feel that you all deserve it."

Hazel scanned the faces of her friends and she saw that they were all incredulous as well.

"You'll actually let us relax for a while on this tropical island?" Frank asked. He had dropped his sandwich and was trying to put it back together with only one hand. Hazel helped him.

Kaida tilted her head quizzically. "Have any of you ever had a break before?"

"None of them were given to us by monsters," Hazel said coldly.

Jason glanced at her nervously, and so did some of the others. Hazel knew that she was probably scaring them with her sudden hostility, but after Kaida put Nico through so much, she was ready to skewer that dragon's head with her _spatha_.

Kaida didn't seem to notice her anger, though. "Well, that does not surprise me. However, please do not forget that I am not a monster. I am immortal not unlike monsters, but I do not spend my time anywhere but on this plane of existence."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Annabeth demanded.

"It means that even if I am killed, I will be reborn without going to Tartarus."

"Well," Piper said. "I think that a little vacation time seems lovely. I say we all just spend some time to reflect on things and not kill each other. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the whole group said together, even Hazel. Hazel thought that maybe Piper was using charmspeak again, because Hazel still wanted to kill Kaida.

After that announcement, the lunch was mostly silent. Everyone was still dazed from facing their worst fears. Hazel noticed subtle differences in almost everyone.

Percy was even more protective of Annabeth, but he was always careful to not show her too much affection when Nico was around. He seemed to be the most alert, next to Hazel. Jason was pale still, like he wasn't quite over his shock. Leo was never away from Calypso's side. Nico didn't seem to be bothered by physical contact. Frank seemed even more determined to help everyone. Annabeth stared off into space a lot, as though the Mist was still obscuring her vision of the real world. Piper was tense, and she was constantly trying to keep the peace in every situation, as though commotion scared her.

The only person who didn't seem that different was Reyna. Hazel had known Reyna for a long time, but she still couldn't tell what that praetor was thinking. She sat through the whole lunch, sitting with the authority of a princess, never speaking a word the whole time.

After the lunch, everyone went their separate ways. Percy went off with Annabeth, Leo with Calypso, Jason with Piper, Reyna by herself, and Hazel with Frank and Nico.

Hazel was worried about Nico. He had never been the talkative type, and he had always looked like he was haunted, but now he looked even worse. He kept mouthing a word that she was pretty sure was _Percy._ He seemed dazed, like a sleepwalker.

As they walked toward the beach, away from everyone else, Hazel grabbed Nico's hand. He didn't react, only kept walking. Hazel stopped.

"Frank?"

"Yeah, Hazel?"

"Could you give me some time with my brother for a bit please?"

Frank looked disappointed, but not surprised. "Sure. I'll, uh, go find Reyna. Then she won't be alone."

Hazel felt guilty as Frank trudged off in the direction Reyna had gone. She turned to face Nico.

"Talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about." He looked like he was having trouble focusing on her, like he was thinking about something else.

"That's a lie," Hazel said. She glared at him, and for the first time, Nico seemed to really see her.

"It's not important."

"That's also a lie." Hazel was starting to get really upset. Her brother never let her in, even when he clearly wanted to talk to someone.

He gave her a glare that should've paralyzed her with fear, but instead strengthened her resolve to not let him off the hook.

"It…it's none of your business," he told her.

He started to walk away, but Hazel grabbed his shoulder. He stopped, taken by surprise by her determination.

"You never let anyone in," she said once he looked her in the eyes. "You hide, over and over again. When will you realize that Bianca wasn't the only one who will ever accept you? I'm your sister too."

"Hazel…" His voice was tight. She knew he hated it when anyone brought Bianca up in front of him, but she needed him to know that she meant business.

"Please, Nico. I'm here. Just talk to me. That's all I ask. I want to be there for you, the way you've been there for me."

He looked like he might start crying if she kept pushing him, but he didn't speak.

She continued to glare at him, doing her best to imitate the stare that Nico himself had perfected.

Nico's shoulders slumped. "I…I guess I do owe you that… But not here. I think Kaida is listening."

Hazel turned around. They were half a mile from the hill that Kaida was on, but with that dragon hearing of hers, Hazel suspected she was eavesdropping on everyone on the island.

"Is there a place on this island where she won't hear us?" Hazel asked quietly.

Nico nodded. "Follow me."

She followed him down to the beach. Nico lead her around the far side of a nearby hill. The hill was a slope on one side and a cliff on the other. She touched the cliff side, and a tunnel opened, heading into the center of the hill. They followed it into a large cave. Hazel shrank the opening to the size of a fist, so Kaida would be unlikely to hear them but they still got fresh air.

Hazel folded her arms. "Well?"

It came out harsher than she meant it to, and Nico flinched. Hazel felt guilty. Nico had been through so much already, and here she was forcing him to talk to her. She had always hoped that one day Nico would open up to her, but he was just as closed off now as when she had met him.

"What do you want to know?" Nico asked.

"What do you want to tell me?" Hazel asked gently.

"Bye, everyone," Leo called.

Piper managed a weak smile at him as she walked away with Jason. "Don't get lost!"

Leo grinned. "Same to you!"

He walked arm-in-arm with Calypso. The breeze was warm, the sky was deep blue with a few clouds, and the smell of flowers and cinnamon drifted through the air. Leo had never been so at peace, even after the whole facing-his-fears thing.

They made their way to the beach, and Leo spotted Hazel being led by Nico behind a hill. Hazel looked pretty upset.

Leo and Calypso kept walking, and they stopped when they spotted a dark crater of sand on the beach. It had fragments of machine parts and a broken table in it.

Leo couldn't help it. He started cracking up. Calypso started laughing, too. "Wow, this place brings back memories, doesn't it?"

Calypso nodded. "Remember how annoying you were back then?"

"Aw, you know you liked me right away. Well, after you got over me breaking your table."

Leo looked up from the pile toward the center of the island. His smile melted. He walked toward it.

"Leo? What is it?" Calypso followed him.

"You kept this?" He had reached the site where he had made the control board and work table when he was originally trapped on the island.

Leo didn't know why, but he started tearing up. "You said you thought I'd never return."

Calypso looked sadly at the work bench. "Well, I had to…to remind myself that you really had promised to come back. None have ever done that before, much less fulfilled that promise."

They sat on the work bench, facing the lake that surrounded the island, and held hands as they watched the waves.

"I'm sorry."

Percy looked at Annabeth in surprise. They had been walking for a while, but she hadn't spoken that whole time.

"Uh, for what?"

"For worrying you," she said. She kept her eyes fixed on the horizon. Ever since leaving her nightmare, she wouldn't make eye contact with Percy. That alone was enough to make him worry.

He smiled at her, and she glanced over at him. As soon as she saw his eyes, she turned away. He squeezed her hand.

"What happened?" he asked.

She had her eyes fixed ahead of her again, like she was afraid of what she would see if she looked at him.

"Your eyes. They…they're still green, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Last I checked."

Annabeth stopped walking. She turned to face him, and looked him straight in the eyes. Her gray eyes seemed darker than usual, like she was thinking really hard about what she should say next. She took a deep breath.

"In my nightmare, your eyes turned red—and I mean pure red, with no whites or pupils—and then you shoved me. You shoved me away and…" Her voice cracked. She swallowed, then continued. "And I had to watch you fight a hellhound the size of a mountain. You shoved me away and then I fell, helpless to save you from certain death. It was horrible."

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and Percy hugged her.

He kissed her head. "It's okay. It was only a dream. You won't lose me that easy. I promise."

"What about Nico?" she asked.

Percy's blood ran cold. "What about him?"

"What was his nightmare like that was so terrible?" She had an unmistakable tint of bitterness in her voice.

"Who…?" Percy couldn't finish his sentence.

"I heard Hazel talking about it. You…You really helped him and not me?" She stepped back from Percy, and he could see hurt and misery in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth. I really wanted to help you, but you should've seen his terror."

"_I _was terrified, Percy! I thought you were dying! I thought you turned against me when I needed you most!"

"So did Nico," Percy snapped.

Annabeth's look of anger changed to disbelief. "What?"

Percy swallowed. He didn't want to tell Annabeth about Nico's fears, but Percy was afraid that Annabeth might hate him if she didn't get a good reason.

"Let's go sit on the beach and talk, okay? I need to tell you something."

They walked down to the beach in silence. Percy sat down behind a large hill and Annabeth sat down to his right. They leaned against the rocky cliff.

She looked at him expectantly.

"Nico's worst fear was all of us." Percy watched her expression. She didn't show any.

"He's afraid of us rejecting him. All his life he's been rejected everywhere he went. We've been his closest thing to a family. In his nightmare, he was hunted down by everyone. Bianca was alive, but she hated him too. I—I killed Bianca. She was about to stab Nico, but I killed her with Riptide. Then Jason attacked me, and Nico had to watch the both of us die right next to him. Then you…you stabbed him through the heart with your dagger."

Annabeth put a hand to her mouth, tears pooling around her eyes.

"So you see why I had to help him?" Percy asked.

She nodded. To his left, Percy heard a strange sound, like a miniature avalanche. He turned around and his heart almost stopped.

There was a cave that hadn't been there a moment before. Hazel was standing in it. Next to her was Nico.

"What did you just say?" Nico's voice was so quiet Percy could hardly hear him.

"N-Nico? When did you get here?" Percy stammered.

He expected Nico to unsheathe his sword and try to kill him, but instead he just stood there, which for some reason was worse.

Nico's expression seemed familiar for some reason. Then Percy realized it was the same expression he'd had on his face when Percy told him Bianca was dead. The thought stabbed Percy like an icy dagger.

"Nico?" Hazel asked quietly.

Nico took a breath. "Don't worry, Hazel. I won't hurt him." He looked Percy in the eyes. "Even though he's hurt me so many times."

"Nico…" Percy's voice wouldn't work.

"Save it! I don't want another sorry excuse from you, Percy Jackson!" Nico yelled. He tore off down the beach, Hazel sprinting after him.

"Oh gods, Percy. I'm sorry. I didn't know Nico was right there," Annabeth apologized.

"Great. Now I betrayed him," Percy muttered.

Annabeth put her hand on his arm. "Go."

Percy gave her a grateful look, then took off down the beach toward Nico.

The first thing Percy learned: Nico was fast. He was faster than Hazel, who slowed to a stop after a few hundred feet. As Percy ran by, she glared at him. Her gold eyes were full of resentment. Nico kept going at a full sprint until Percy felt like they must've traveled halfway around the island. At long last, Nico slowed down.

"Nico!" Percy called. That was the wrong thing to do. As soon as Nico saw how close Percy was, he took off again.

The sand was hiding lots of things. Nico found a log that was half-buried in sand with his foot. He stumbled toward the water. Percy took the opening.

Nico screamed in surprise as a giant hand made of water grabbed his feet and he fell into the lake. By the time he was standing again, Percy had caught up.

The second thing Percy learned: there were no dead people on Ogygia. Nico tried to summon a skeleton to hold Percy off while he ran, but he couldn't seem to do it.

"What the…?" Nico wondered aloud.

"Nico…" Percy frantically attempted to find a reason for betraying Nico's trust, but he just couldn't.

"Don't." Nico looked at the sand, like he was still trying to find a skeleton warrior. "I don't need another excuse. She's your girlfriend. You tell her everything, don't you? Even things you won't tell me, like my worst fear?" Nico's tone worried Percy. Nico was dangerous all of the time, but when he got upset, people tended to die and the dead tended to come back to life.

"Nico, I know what I did was wrong."

"Let me guess, you want me to forgive you because Annabeth needed to know or you'd be in big trouble, right?"

Percy shook his head. "Nothing could excuse what I did. I know that. I should've known better. I'm sorry."

Percy waited for Nico to tell him off and run away again, or something. Instead he just stood there, processing Percy's words.

Hazel walked up behind them. She passed Percy and stood protectively at her brother's side. She watched Percy the way she might watch a potential enemy. The thought made Percy sad. He didn't want to alienate these two. He had known them both for too long.

"You jerk," Nico mumbled.

Percy cautiously stepped back. "What?"

"You know I can't stay mad at you when you look at me like that," Nico growled.

Percy didn't know what he was talking about. Then he remembered something Annabeth had told him when she'd gotten mad at him while they were on a date. When he was sad, she said he resembled a baby seal.

Percy had to resist the urge to smile. Without meaning to, he had probably toyed with Nico's heartstrings. He immediately felt horrible. He wasn't a very good friend if he did that sort of thing.

Nico sighed. "Whatever. But if you tell anyone else, and I mean _anyone_—"

"I promise. I won't."

Hazel relaxed a little bit. She must've been ready to support her brother should he need her, but she didn't want to fight Percy.

Percy was relieved that it hadn't gotten so out of hand that they had to physically fight, because he didn't like his chances against two children of the Underworld.

"Check this out! You can see for miles out in the water here, Jason!" Above them, Piper appeared on a hill. She was beckoning at someone to hurry up and join her at the edge of the cliff, presumably Jason.

"Alright, give me a sec. This area's kind of steep," Jason called.

"Oh please. You can fly, Jason. Just get up here!" Piper laughed.

Percy watched as Jason walked up to the edge of the cliff and put his arm around Piper. A lump formed in his throat. He remembered that Annabeth was waiting for him. But one look at Nico told him that their discussion was far from over. Nico's eyes were like broken glass, like everything he looked at hurt him.

Percy remembered the way Nico had looked when they had first met. He was a carefree kid with his sister, who always looked after him. He didn't remember his past, but it didn't seem to matter to him. He collected trading cards and was constantly talking about attack points and other geeky stuff.

Looking at him now, Percy couldn't believe he was the same person. He looked so much sadder and so bitter; it was like he had aged twenty years since they met.

Hazel noticed Percy watching her brother and she seemed sympathetic, like she knew what Percy was thinking about. She gestured to a spot a few yards away. Percy nodded.

"Nico, I'll be right back, okay?" Hazel said.

Nico didn't respond. He had been watching Jason and Piper, but he turned and sat down against the rough stones. He stared blankly out at the water without a word.

Hazel walked quickly to the spot she had indicated. When Percy walked up behind her, she turned on him.

"Do you see what I see?" she asked urgently.

"Well, I guess that depends on what you see," Percy said.

"He looks…I don't know, damaged? He's…" Her voice cracked. She wiped her eyes. "He's already been through so much, but it just keeps piling up. At this rate, he'll shut down completely."

"What do you mean?"

She huffed impatiently. "I don't know how to explain it, but I can feel him slipping away, losing his will to live. If nothing's done, he'll die. He already looks like a ghost!" She put her hand on Percy's arm. "Please. He's the only family I have. You have to save him."

"What am I supposed to do about that? I've never been that good at morale boosting, especially with Nico. His mood has always seemed pretty constant to me," Percy told her.

"Talk to him. He…He might just open up to you." Hazel blinked away tears.

"Me? Why would you think that?" Percy asked incredulously.

Hazel swallowed, like what she was about to say was uncomfortable. "I think he will because he loves you."

Percy tried not to wince when she said that. The idea that Nico could fall in love was weird enough, but the thought that it could be _Percy _that he'd fall in love with was even weirder.

Percy sighed. "What can I say to him?"

"Ask him to talk to you. I think he will," Hazel insisted.

Percy glanced uneasily at Nico, who had moved to the edge of the water. He was sitting cross-legged, and every time the waves came in he got soaked. He didn't seem to mind it at all.

"There's definitely something wrong," a voice said behind them.

Hazel and Percy turned around to see Jason, Annabeth, and Piper standing behind them.

"The question is," Jason continued, "What?"

"I think he's lonely. Look at his worst fears: He's afraid of us leaving him. He finally has some people who will stay around him. We treat him like a person, whereas most people treat him like a threat. He needs to know that we're still here for him," Annabeth said.

Piper and Jason looked quizzically at her when she mentioned Nico's fears, Hazel looked annoyed, and Percy winced.

"So, how do we fix loneliness?" Piper asked. "The guy doesn't let anyone go near him."

"Actually," Hazel put in, "he doesn't like joining in on things. If we decided to be around him, instead of him feeling like an outsider or intruder, maybe he'll lighten up?" Her tone made it into a question.

"Worth a try," Percy decided. Without waiting for anyone else, he walked over and sat next to Nico.

Nico continued looking out at the water with no expression on his face. Percy nudged him. "Nico? You spacing out?"

Nico blinked a few times. His vision seemed to clear a little bit. "What?"

"Dude, stop being so antisocial." Percy heard Hazel and Piper gasp when he said that, but Nico didn't seem to mind.

"Antisocial?" He was talking slowly, like he had just woken up. He looked at Percy. His eyes widened.

"Percy?" he asked.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Where—where's everyone else?" he asked nervously.

Percy grinned. "What? You don't like being alone with me?"

Nico's face turned red. "Uh…I um…."

Percy laughed. "Relax. You need to lighten up, you know that?"

"Lighten up?" Nico sounded like it was a completely foreign concept.

"Yeah. You know, you have all of us pretty worried, Nico. Hazel's worried out of her mind, thinking that you're having a mental break down. Jason and Piper are concerned, too."

Nico frowned. "They…they care about what happens to me? I didn't think they did. They're not the types to worry about someone like me. I'm not worth it."

"Whoa, stop right there. You're not worth it? Of course we care about you! You're our _friend _Nico." Percy noticed that what Nico was saying sounded disturbingly like what the spirits in the River Cocytus in Tartarus said. The thought scared him. It sounded like Nico really _was _losing his will to live.

"Friend." The fog in Nico's eyes seemed to clear up more. "That's right. I have friends now. People who care about me…I-I never had that before."

Percy smiled. "Well, get used to it, because now you're stuck with us."

Nico looked at him gratefully. "Thank you, Percy."

"Are you going to stop being so moody now?" Percy asked.

Nico faked being offended. "Me? Moody? I've always been nothing but cheery!"

"Well, if that's how you show happiness, remind me to never make you mad."

Nico laughed. The sound echoed, and Percy knew that everything would be okay. It occurred to Percy that he'd never heard Nico actually laugh before. He had never simply laughed because he was happy.

"What do you say we go find the others and we all enjoy this break together?" Percy asked.

Nico nodded. Percy stood up and helped Nico to his feet. They brushed sand off their clothes.

Together, they walked over to the place where Piper, Jason, and Annabeth had been hiding.

"You guys can come out now," Nico told them.

Percy laughed as their three friends crept out from behind the clump of foliage. "We weren't eavesdropping," Hazel said quickly.

Nico laughed again. "Don't worry about it, Hazel. Thanks for, you know, caring about me."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and Hazel smiled. "I'm just glad that you're feeling better."

"HEEEEY!" someone called from down the beach.

The group turned and saw Leo and Calypso running toward them, waving their arms happily.

"Leo! Calypso!" Piper called back, waving.

Soon Leo and Calypso joined them, and they started talking about what had happened since they separated. Percy happened to glance at Nico, who was talking to Calypso, and Nico actually looked his age for once. He looked like a happy fifteen-year-old kid, just talking to his friends on vacation.

"Are you sure this is the way?" a voice somewhere up on a hill nearby asked.

"I could hear talking, and there aren't any other people on this island," another voice answered.

The first voice grunted. "Zhang, what I meant was you could be hearing things."

Frank popped up at the crest of the nearest hill, and his face lit up. He turned around. "Hey, Reyna! They're over here!" He took off down the hill and joined them, Reyna lagging behind.

"Frank! There you are!" Hazel cried, hugging him. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Yeah, we couldn't find you guys. This is a pretty big island, you know?" Frank said, looking embarrassed.

"The important thing is that we're all together now," Nico said. Everyone was so surprised to hear something positive from him that they just stared at him. Nico started to look uncomfortable, and finally he demanded, "What?"

Percy smiled at him. "Good job. You really are lightening up, huh?"

Reyna joined them and doubled over, out of breath.

"You okay, Reyna?" Jason asked. She nodded.

"Well, now what do we do?" Annabeth asked.

"Whatever we want to do," Leo said cheerfully.

The day passed quickly after that. They hiked all over the island, Calypso pointing out things of interest. They got tired and hot, so they decided to head back down to the beach.

"I'm going for a swim," Percy said as he walked toward the water.

Annabeth followed him. "I'm coming too."

He stopped. "You don't have a swimsuit."

She folded her arms. "Neither do you."

"But my dad's Poseidon. I don't really have to worry about that."

"Look, Seaweed Brain, I'm going for a swim, whether you like it or not."

Percy shrugged. They both plunged into the waves. They splashed around and dove under the water. After a few minutes, Percy noticed his friends sitting on the beach, looking tired and bored. He decided to play a little prank.

They were all shocked as a giant wave picked them up off the sand and carried them out into the water.

"Hey!" Piper and Hazel protested. Jason splashed Piper, and they got into a splash fight. Nico playfully splashed Hazel, and she chased after him as he dove underwater. Frank turned into a dolphin and followed Hazel and Nico.

Only Reyna didn't seem to want to join the fun. She swam for the shore.

"Reyna! Hey Reyna! Don't leave! Have some fun for once!" Percy called. Reyna turned around, her eyes glittering murderously. Before he could change his mind, Percy manipulated the water to spray up into her face.

She growled and charged at him through the water. They swam around, Reyna trying to kill him, but steadily her anger seemed to fade. She laughed as Annabeth splashed her. The two of them started chasing each other in circles.

Everyone played around and splashed through the waves until sundown. When the sun was a glowing red orb hovering just above the horizon, they all made their way back to the shore. The invisible servants of the island brought them a giant blanket and a feast for a picnic. They all sat together, watching the sun set and the stars come out as they ate and laughed. Their gleeful chatter echoed endlessly into the perfect night.

"They're having fun," Kaida mused. "I'm glad." She was on a hill overlooking the group of demigods. She had watched them having fun and goofing off. "Even when they know things will get worse, they have fun. The way mortals behave…" She trailed off. She smiled as Nico, now almost completely out of his shell, playfully shoved Percy, who seemed to be telling a story.

Kaida felt an emotion that she had never felt before. She couldn't place it. Was it joy? No, she had felt joy before. Pride? No, that wasn't it.

_Jealousy._

Kaida was jealous that these demigods were together. All of her existence, Kaida had been alone. She never had friends. She didn't even have a family. Is this what these demigods were giving her in return for her help, a sense of family? To know what she had been missing in her three thousand years of existence?

Kaida shook her head. She was their teacher, not their friend. She was immortal, and they were not. They would leave her one day, the way everyone did. Kaida couldn't live the way they did. She never could and never would. She was the Trial Master. That was her curse. That was her duty.

As their laughter echoed through the night, a single tear made its way down Kaida's metallic cheek.

"Soon," she murmured. "Soon the trials continue. But for now, demigods, your family can rejoice. I am not uncivil. Tomorrow, we will see just who you can really trust."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

Can you trust family?

Annabeth woke up to Percy snoring in her ear. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. She was still on the beach, on Calypso's island.

"Percy?" She nudged his shoulder, but he just groaned and rolled over.

Last night everyone had fallen asleep on the picnic blanket. The servants had taken away the dirty dishes, which was probably for the best. Annabeth wouldn't have liked to wake up in a plate of spaghetti.

The sun was just starting to rise on the other side of the island. Annabeth got up and carefully picked her way around her sleeping friends.

She turned back around to see where everyone was. Jason was on one side, cuddling with Piper. Calypso and Leo were lying side by side, Reyna was sleeping by herself, Hazel had pulled the edge of the blanket over herself, Frank was in the sand, and Percy and Nico were both alone. As Annabeth watched, Percy reached out, trying to find her. He found Hazel instead, and he held her hand. She didn't stir, and Percy started snoring again.

Annabeth walked up the beach. Before she knew it, she had made it to the other side of the island. She sat in the cool sand and watched the sun rise.

"Breathtaking, is it not?"

Annabeth jumped.

"I apologize. Did I frighten you?" Kaida sat down beside her. She was the four foot tall version of herself, so she wasn't nearly as imposing as she could've been.

"Um, maybe just a little. I didn't expect you to be up so early," Annabeth said.

She noticed that Kaida's cold bronze scales glittered in the morning sun. The area beneath her eyes seemed shinier than the rest of her. Annabeth wondered if it were possible for dragons to cry, and if so, if Kaida had been.

"Are…Are you okay?" she asked tentatively.

Kaida blinked a few times, and a golden tear ran between her scales. Annabeth gasped.

"Kaida! You're crying?" She got up and placed her hand on her cheek. To Annabeth's surprise, Kaida was warm. Her face was wet, like she had spent a long time crying.

Kaida laughed weakly. "Yes. It seems I have discovered another emotion. This emotion is not going over well with me, either."

Annabeth took a moment to process that. "You discovered an emotion?"

Kaida's gleaming eyes looked up at Annabeth. "Yes. It would appear that I am suffering from what you call jealousy."

"Jealousy? What are you jealous of?"

A few more tears rolled down Kaida's chin and fell to the sand. "You. You and the other demigods. You're a family. Did you notice that? The way you all stay together, the way you make the best of each situation. It amazes me. It finally occurred to me last night as I watched over you all that I will never have that. I will be on my own, for all eternity."

Annabeth didn't know what to say. She had never expected Kaida to open up to her. It seemed sad to her that Kaida could never have a family. Her father had abandoned her, forcing her into exile. She had spent the last three thousand years completely _alone._ Annabeth was reminded of Nico, and how lonely he had seemed. He had almost killed himself with sadness. Would the same thing happen to Kaida?

"No."

Kaida looked at her in surprise. "What?"

"You won't be alone. You could go to camp. You'll never be alone again. You could help Chiron train demigods." Annabeth smiled. "You're certainly wise enough, right?"

Kaida slowly shook her head. "I am an exile. I am not allowed to have contact with the gods or their children, aside from the one task assigned to me all those years ago. After my task is complete, I will cease to have a purpose. After a short time, I will fade from existence. I will finally die."

The way Kaida said _die_ made Annabeth gasp. Kaida _wanted _die.

"Why? Why do you want that? Why don't you try to fight it, to make something better of your life?" Annabeth asked.

"I have no family. I have no reason. I have a purpose, and that purpose will soon be fulfilled. I can only hope that death comes quickly when I am done."

Annabeth's eyes stung. "You can't! You can't just die! Find a family. Make one if you don't have it!"

Kaida looked out at the redness of the lake. "I am considered immortal. I am a machine. All machines eventually stop working. Machines have creators. If that creator does not want them, they lose everything. They lose their purpose, their reason to be. What I seek I cannot have. I will never have family. Machines don't…" Kaida's voice cracked.

"That's not true. I have a friend who's a dragon, and he's got a family," a voice behind Annabeth said.

She turned around to see Leo walking toward them.

"Leo? What are you doing up?" Annabeth asked.

But Leo was on a roll. "Festus the dragon. He's a nice enough guy when you get to know him. You could have a family if you tried. Everyone can."

Kaida looked out at the water silently.

"No, I cannot. I am not the 'everyone' you speak of. I am fake, a flawed specimen," Kaida looked at the sand, tears streaming down her face.

Leo walked up and stood in front of Kaida. Annabeth backed up.

"Look, all I hear is you saying the same things over and over again. What's that about, huh? Are you trying to convince yourself or us?"

"Neither." Kaida held up her claw, and Annabeth couldn't believe it. The claw was transparent.

"I am already fading. I have only enough time left to see you all to the end. Then I am going to disappear. I have only days left. I knew it was coming. I could sense it. My purpose is almost fulfilled."

Kaida looked so resigned that Annabeth started to cry. How could anyone just sit back and watch themself die when they could easily stop it?

"Annabeth!" Percy called.

Annabeth looked back the way she came and saw him approaching. He broke into a run and soon he was by her side. When he saw her face his smile disappeared.

"What happened?"

"It's Kaida," Annabeth whimpered. She wiped her tears away and tried to look strong. "She's going to die when the trials are over, and she's doing nothing to stop it."

"Die? I thought you were immortal, Kaida."

Kaida looked up at him with big sad eyes. "Yes, I have been. But much like your friend Mr. di Angelo, I have lost the will to live. I, however, do not have a family to cheer me up and keep me going the way he does."

"Family?" Percy asked.

Annabeth nodded. "Kaida says that we're all close enough to be a family."

"Wait," Leo chimed in. "How can we need to do these trials if we know each other well enough to be like a family?"

Kaida make an attempt at a smile. "Perhaps you do not need them the way I thought. But please humor an old dragon that doesn't have enough time left to learn new tricks."

The sun was well into the sky now, probably around six-thirty or seven in the morning.

"You need to get back to the others," Kaida told them. "They do not know where you are and it's frightening them.

Percy put his arm around Annabeth's shoulders and guided her back the way they came, Leo walking behind them.

They left Kaida to watch the sunlight stream through her transparent paws.

"What happened?" Piper asked when she saw that Annabeth was crying.

Annabeth face the group. Her _family_, as Kaida called them. "It's about Kaida. She's fading from existence. After our trials are over, she'll die. Permanently."

She saw quite a few different expressions. Jason and Piper looked sad, Nico looked sympathetic, Hazel looked like she was trying not to be happy, and Reyna showed no emotion.

"So she's lost the will to live, huh?" Nico asked.

Percy nodded.

"What's the reason?"

Percy didn't seem to understand the question. "What do you mean?"

"When I was losing faith, I had a reason. I felt alone. Is that the reason for Kaida's depression?"

"Yes," Annabeth answered. "She said that since she was a machine, she could never have a family. She would always be alone, and because of that she welcomed death."

"If that's the case then—"

The sound of wings the size of small airplanes stopped their conversation. The wind hit them and almost sent the blanket flying, but Hazel was still on top of it. Frank helped her hold it down so that Hazel fly away.

Kaida, now full size, landed on the beach beside the group of demigods. "Good morning to you. I thank you for your concern, but I have made peace with my destiny. Now, I believe it is time for a breakfast, and then there are more trials ahead of you."

The invisible servants brought them all a huge breakfast buffet, and they dug in. They discussed what the next series of trials could be and cracking jokes about who would make it through first.

When they were done, the area was cleaned and they got ready to face a new trial.

"Is everyone ready?" Kaida asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Annabeth said.

"Very well. Your next trial is the trial of trust. Percy and Nico, the first phase is for the pair of you."

Percy and Nico looked at each other nervously. Nico asked, "What about everyone else?"

"They will come with me," Kaida said ominously.

Annabeth grabbed Percy's hand. He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Just go with her. I promise I'll get all of you back afterwards."

Kaida laughed quietly. "My dear boy, the trial _is _getting them back." She turned to face Nico. "I have permission from your father to use his domain this time. Find us when you are ready, assuming you are able."

Next to Annabeth, Percy shuddered. "Not the Underworld again."

Kaida smiled. "Come, little demigods. You have prison cells awaiting you."

She lay down and beckoned them to climb onto her back. Reluctantly, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Reyna, and Annabeth started to get aboard. When Calypso tried to follow Leo, Kaida growled at her.

"These trials are for _demigods,_ which you are not. Please remain on this island."

Leo jumped up from his seat on Kaida's back. "What? She has to stay here? That's so unfair!"

"I never said that trials are fair!" Kaida snapped. Everyone stopped. Kaida had never raised her voice before. Leo sat down, scared. Calypso waved her goodbye and raced up the hill and out of sight. Kaida turned to Percy and Nico.

"We are going to the palace of Hades, and your friends will be inside the dungeon there."

"Wait, why are you telling them where we are?" Piper asked.

Nico looked grim. "In the dungeons, the prison cells are airtight. If Percy and I don't get to you in about an hour and a half, you'll all die from lack of fresh air."

Annabeth gulped and sucked in some fresh tropical air. "I'll miss this air."

Kaida rumbled, possibly a chuckle. "Yes, it will be the last time we breathe it."

Annabeth didn't like the way she said _we_, like Kaida knew she'd never return to Ogygia.

Kaida faced Percy and Nico again. "There is one more thing to this test." She raised her tail and touched Percy in the abdomen. She hardly made contact, but Percy doubled over in pain. He fell to the sand, thrashing around. Nico knelt to try to help him, and Percy grabbed his shirt.

"Can't…See," Percy groaned. Percy looked up at Nico, and Nico gasped.

"You're eyes…They're…Oh, gods. Kaida, what did you _do?_"

Percy looked up toward Annabeth, and her heart skipped a beat. His eyes were milky white.

"Percy." Annabeth got choked up just watching him. He wriggled in the sand like a newborn, trying to get a grasp of his surroundings. He found Nico's hand and held it. Nico, who had been staring at Kaida, looked at Percy in surprise.

"Nico? Is…Is that you?" Percy asked.

"Yeah. It's me," Nico managed. Annabeth could see all the way from Kaida's back how red-faced Nico was. He turned to Kaida. "Is this part of the trial then? Percy has to be blind?"

Kaida nodded. "He will regain his sight when you save your friends."

Annabeth was ready to cry, watching Percy struggle to his feet, never letting Nico's hand go.

Percy looked in her general direction. "It's okay. We'll get to you guys before time runs out," he promised.

"I know you will, Seaweed Brain," she called back.

Kaida extended her wings and metal wires seeped out from between her scales and wrapped around her passengers. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't that comfortable either. Kaida flapped her wings twice, and they went thirty feet in the air. Annabeth tried not to look down as they soared over the water and away from Ogygia.

"Are they gone?" Percy asked Nico. He nodded, then remembered that Percy was blind.

"Um, yeah."

"Well, I guess we have to go to the Underworld now, huh?"

Nico paused. He knew that they were on a time sensitive mission, but at the moment he was having trouble focusing while holding Percy's hand. "We need to get to New York or Los Angeles. Which one do you prefer?"

Percy thought for a second. "Well, I don't want to drag Grover back to Central Park, so let's go with Los Angeles."

"Okay. We have to shadow travel either way. Do you want to call Mrs. O'Leary?" Nico asked.

"Alright." Percy whistled, and they waited. They were starting to think that Mrs. O'Leary wasn't able to travel to them when Percy was stampeded from behind.

"Whoa! Mrs. O'Leary! Heel, girl! Heel!" After a few moments, Mrs. O'Leary got off of Percy and started sniffing Nico. With Nico's help, Percy got onto her back. He held out his hand to Nico, who backed up uncertainly.

"I think I should just meet you there," he said.

"You have to preserve your strength," Percy reminded him. "Just get on the dog."

Nico hesitantly took Percy's hand and got on Mrs. O'Leary behind him. He sat there expectantly, waiting for Percy to tell the dog where to go.

Percy turned to face him, his blank eyes staring at nothing. "You'll have to hold on or you'll fall off."

"Oh. Oh right." Nico awkwardly put his arms around Percy's waist.

"Alright," Percy announced. "Mrs. O'Leary, please take us to L.A., California. Charon's ferry."

Mrs. O'Leary bounded toward a tree, and the shadows bent around her. A moment later, and they were gone.

It is scientifically proven that people in L.A. are self-absorbed. Nico already knew that, but it still amazed him when he, Percy, and Mrs. O'Leary walked out of a dark alley and straight into the street and not a single person looked at them. Nico still had to hold Percy's hand to guide him.

"Man, people in this town are oblivious," Percy said.

"Yeah."

They left Mrs. O'Leary, who enjoyed snuffing around dumpsters, and began their walk to the office building where Charon was. They walked inside and up to the front desk.

"Good evening, Charon," Nico said.

Charon looked up from his magazine. "Ugh, Underworld Kid again. Can't you just die already so I don't have to take you back and forth so much?"

"Just take us across the river."

Charon sighed. "Fine."

He walked out from behind his desk and over to an elevator. Percy and Nico followed him inside. The elevator turned into a boat floating across a black river.

When they reached the other side, Nico thanked him and got off the boat, Percy right behind him.

"Well, I had no interest in coming back here, but I always seem to end up here anyway," Percy complained.

"Me too," Nico said quietly. "This place has some bad memories for the both of us."

They both remembered the last time the two of them had been in the Underworld together, and it didn't seem help Percy's mood.

Nico had tricked Percy into going to Hades' palace and almost got him killed. Now they were there again, the only difference being that Nico wouldn't turn against him this time. He hoped that Percy knew that.

They passed the security ghouls and trudged through the Fields of Asphodel. No one bothered them as they passed.

They reached the obsidian palace at the end of the fields.

"Home sweet home," Nico muttered.

"You know, for being a trial and all, this has been strangely uneventful," Percy noticed.

"Sorry, that's my job," said a voice above them.

They looked up to see a wrinkled old hag with a fiery whip and leathery wings. With her paisley handbag and crumpled velvet dress, she looked like a demon grandmother.

"Mrs. Dodds?" Percy asked since he couldn't see.

"Hello, honey," the Fury cackled.

"Where are your ugly sisters?"

"Oh, they're not interested in these trials. I was the only one who volunteered."

"So, they aren't coming?" Nico asked.

"Yes."

Nico sighed in relief. "In that case, there's only one thing to do."

Mrs. Dodds tilted her head. Nico looked at Percy. "RUN!"

They bolted toward the front door of the palace. The Fury tried to follow, but Nico summoned a spire of pure obsidian that impaled her.

Nico yawned as he ran.

"Oh, no," Percy said. "You are _not _going to pass out again like you did last time are you?"

Nico smiled. "I'll do my best."

They ran through the corridors. Nico knew exactly how to get to the dungeon. He didn't even pause at crossroads. They had almost made it to their destination when everything went wrong.

Swarms of zombie warriors charged at them from all directions. Nico managed to put most of them to sleep, but he was getting tired. Percy uncapped Riptide

"Déjà vu," he muttered as he stumbled. Percy caught him, and a skeleton cut Percy's arm.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Percy deflected another skeleton's blade with Riptide.

Nico didn't understand how Percy could do that. Even though he couldn't see, he seemed to be doing pretty well defending himself and even defeated quite a few warriors.

The fight seemed to be going their way. They'd had significantly more practice against monsters since the last time they fought together in the Underworld. Nico thought things were going pretty well when he was stabbed in the arm.

His sword clattered to the stone floor.

"Nico!" Percy killed the skeleton that had hurt him. He managed to defend Nico from the other zombies, but Nico knew he had to help.

When the last of them were piles of bones, Percy knelt to find out how Nico was doing. He was curled up on the floor, blood oozing from his arm. The knife was next to him. Percy gave him some ambrosia and propped him against a wall. He found a fallen enemy's shirt and used it to bandage Nico's arm.

"Thanks," Nico murmured.

Percy sighed. "No matter how many times we fight together I always end up having to take care of you."

"Yeah." Nico's head slumped.

"Whoa, don't go to sleep. Everyone's still in trouble," Percy said as he gently shook his shoulder.

"You're right." With some difficulty, Nico got to his feet.

They continued their journey to the dungeon, but at a much slower pace. Nico almost passed out a few times, and Percy had to catch him. It took a long time—too long, in Percy's opinion—but they finally made it to their destination. They descended the last set of stairs.

They reached a wall that had a skull painted on it. Nico pointed at it, and a portion of the wall disintegrated. It was empty. He moved on to the next skull painting, and again he used his powers to open it.

Coughing came from the opening. Nico led Percy inside, and he stopped short.

Annabeth was on the floor, coughing and trying to breathe.

She looked up at Nico, and she gasped. "You made it."

"Yeah," Nico didn't know what to do. Annabeth reached her hand up to Nico. He took her hand to help her stand up. The moment she touched him, she vanished.

Nico blinked. "What the?"

_You have saved one. Save the others,_ Kaida's voice echoed through the air.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked hopefully.

"Uh, she was here. But she got transported to safety. I think," Nico told him.

"Oh. Well, we'd better find the others." Nico knew that he was trying to hide it, but there was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Yeah. Let's go."

They ran off down the hallway, Nico stopping every few feet to open a cell to see if anyone was inside. They found Jason, Piper, Leo, Reyna, and Frank, but no sign of Hazel. They wandered through the dungeon for a dangerously long time. If they didn't find her soon, she would die.

"Nico? Percy?"

They stopped. Nico spun around to see Hazel running toward them. "Hazel? Where have you been?"

She looked scared. "Um, I found out how to escape my cell and went looking for you two." She glanced at Nico's hand. Her eyes widened. "Why…?"

Nico let go of Percy's hand. "I had to guide him. But I don't anymore. We got everyone back, so he should regain his sight now. Right, Percy?"

Percy nodded. "But we have to technically save Hazel still, right?"

"Oh, right." Nico reached for Hazel's hand. Uncertain, Hazel did the same. The moment their fingers touched, she disappeared.

_Well done,_ Kaida's voice echoed through the chambers. _However, your trial is not yet done._

"What? But you said that when we got our friends to safety would be done and Percy's sight would come back!" Nico yelled.

_I meant all of your friends. Is Percy not your friend, Nico?_

Nico cursed in Greek. "So now I have to save Percy? From what?"

_From the Underworld. From death._

He didn't like the sound of that. He took Percy's hand again and started leading him toward the exit. They reached the Fields of Asphodel again and alarm bells rang through the palace.

"Ugh. Just like last time," Nico muttered as he and Percy sprinted through the fields. Percy tripped on something and fell over.

"Percy! Get up!" The ghouls were gaining on them. They were about to be caught, and Nico was forced to shadow travel. They reappeared just before the gates. Nico almost passed out from exhaustion. Percy got to his feet and they ran through the gates, but Nico was barely able to keep up. Percy dragged him to the edge of the River Styx.

He had to support Nico so he wouldn't fall over. "Alright. How are we supposed to get out of here? The Door of Orpheus isn't open, and Charon won't come back. How do we get out, Underworld Kid?"

Nico yawned. "Have to…shadow travel again. No other choice."

"You're practically asleep right now! You can't shadow travel like this," Percy protested.

"I know. I need to sleep for a while first."

"What exactly are we supposed to do, then? Just tell the zombie guards, _Nico needs a nap. Come back in about two or three hours_?"

"Could we?" Nico asked hopefully.

"No."

"Well, then we have no other choice."

"What are you going to—"

Percy never got to finish his sentence. Nico managed to shadow travel and everything went dark.

Percy shook his head. It had suddenly gotten really bright. He was still blind, but he could see light. Suddenly he could start to see fuzzy shapes. He shook his head, and everything came into focus. His vision had returned.

Next to him, Nico crumpled to the ground and started snoring. Percy looked around. They were in the forest at Camp Half-Blood. He was able to see the cabins and Big House from where he stood. He didn't see anyone nearby, but he knew that he couldn't just leave Nico in the woods. He scooped Nico up in his arms and started walking toward the cabins.

Percy was barraged as soon as he entered camp. All of their friends that he and Nico had rescued were at the camp, and they wanted to know what had happened. Percy promised to explain but said they'd have to wait until he'd taken Nico to the Hades cabin.

Everyone went to sit at the amphitheater and wait for Percy there. Percy had never liked the Hades cabin much. It was cool, but creepy too. He'd never actually been inside it before, either.

He pushed open the door. The inside was almost completely black. Green fire torches lined the walls. Percy walked to the nearest bed and placed Nico on it. The bed was messed up, like someone had slept there recently, so he assumed that either Nico or Hazel had used it. He pulled the covers over Nico.

"Night, Nico," Percy said quietly.

"Night, Bianca," Nico replied sleepily.

Percy winced. He walked out of the cabin and shut the door. He ran to the amphitheater to tell everyone what was happening.

When Percy finished his story it was deafeningly quiet in the amphitheater. No one asked where Kaida had gone. No one asked how Annabeth and the others had mysteriously appeared at camp when they were rescued.

"What will happen now?" asked Katie Gardner from the Demeter cabin.

"I'm actually not sure. I guess we just have to wait for Kaida to show up again," Percy said.

Everyone shifted uneasily. Percy felt as fidgety as they did, but if he didn't want to look nervous.

"Uh, I do have a question, though," Percy added. Everyone turned their attention back to him. "What day is it?"

"It's June eighth, punk," Clarisse said. Her voice sounded hollow, like she was shaken. Percy didn't understand why the news startled her so much, but when it came to Clarisse, he was usually pretty clueless, anyway.

Percy sighed with relief. "Good. Time has passed normally since we left, then. I don't know when, but I know for certain that Kaida will come back. She…she probably will come back whenever Nico wakes up."

"But what if she doesn't?" Piper asked. "Do you think that maybe it's all over? She never specified how many trials there are."

Clarisse stood up. "They aren't over. They're far from over."

Percy looked at her quizzically. "How do you know?"

She shook her head. "It's none of your business how I know. That's not important now. Just be ready when she comes back." With those ominous words, Clarisse left the amphitheater.

Author's note

I'm having trouble with inspiration right now, so this will be on hiatus for a few weeks. I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as my inspiration returns. Thanks for following this story and sorry for the lack of new chapters for a while!

Also, the poll is now over. Not everyone really voted on the poll. Some people put their response in the review of the story, so I will simply add theirs in.

Results

Votes for Annabeth: 2

No one: 1

Calypso: 0

Nico: 5

Nico won the vote, so I suppose this story is now Percico. More on that when the hiatus is over!

-Pokemon Maniac


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